Is the site plan or the highway to blame?
A proposed redevelopment of a 240-unit public housing project called Farnam Courts has drawn criticism for an uninspiring site plan. A bigger problem may be its location, cut off from the rest of the city by a limited access highway and rail corridor, according to Mark Abraham, who proposed an alternative idea at Design New Haven. Abraham proposes to convert a small portion of I-91 (the highway's south end terminates at New Haven, Connecticut) into a street-level boulevard, which he says would "create billions of dollars in economic economic, social and health benefits to New Haven. A train stop at the corner of the Boulevard & New Avenue (or near State Street and Humphrey) would dramatically increase the potential of surrounding land ... " Compare the current proposal (top plan, above), with Abraham's sketch, just below the current plan, which allows for much more infill development.
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